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Conservatives flock to D.C. to find Road to Majority

WASHINGTON - A chorus of "Amen"s ring out from all corners of the Regency Ballroom of the Omni Shoreham Hotel. "God has already defined marriage, and we need to leave it like it is," Pastor Benny Tate shouts

WASHINGTON — A chorus of "amen" rings out from all corners of the Regency Ballroom of the Omni Shoreham Hotel.

"God has already defined marriage, and we need to leave it like it is," Pastor Benny Tate shouts Friday over a full room of the Road to Majority conference attendees. "God will bless America, but it's time for America to bless God. God is the answer, folks."

The Road to Majority conference, organized by the Faith and Freedom Coalition, has a jampacked lineup of speakers, including a host of Republican politicians such as new House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, former senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and businessman Herman Cain.

The goal of the three-day conference, which wraps up Saturday, is to educate and inspire grass-roots leaders and activists to promote conservative pro-family values.

While much of the crowd may have been united against President Obama and his fellow Democrats, there are still divisions.

In the front row of the ballroom sits William Temple, 64, of Brunswick, Ga., dressed as Patrick Henry. "I am here to protest McCarthy as the new majority leader," he says. "I can't believe he has the audacity to say he is a conservative."

Temple is part of the Golden Isles Tea Party and plans to walk out, waving his yellow rattlesnake flag, when McCarthy takes the stage. "I am here today to speak on behalf of our country's founders," Temple says, adjusting his colonial hat.

William Temple sits in the front row of the Road to the Majority Conference in Washington, D.C. He is dressed as Patrick Henry to "speak on behalf of the founders."(Photo: Natalie DiBlasio, USA TODAY)

Gail Sonatore, 67, of Middletown, N.J., arrived at 6 a.m. — three hours before the morning program began — to get front-row seats.

"I come from a liberal state, very, very liberal. I come from New Jersey," she says. "When you are surrounded by a bunch of people or a lot of people that don't see the world the way you do, this — it's kinda like a little shot in the arm to keep up the fight, give you a little encouragement."

Sonatore says she is hoping 2016 brings a renewal in conservative values. She says she's disappointed in the Obama administration's stances on traditional marriage and abortion and how he handled the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

"Whatever problems we have as a nation, God is bigger than every one of them," says Ralph Reed, chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition.

"Right now, there seems to be an attack against religion in this country," says Jack Duckworth, 67, of Burke, Va., who is rolling and unrolling a banner that reads "Run, Ben, Run!" He is here trying to encourage Ben Carson to throw his name in the 2016 election. "Because he is a brain surgeon. And they keep saying, 'It's not brain surgery,' but it is brain surgery, as we have found out recently."

Lining the entry to the ballroom are tables full of foam mini-statues of Obama with enormous ears, "I Stand with Rand" T-shirts and key chains, and books and DVDs on abortion and anti-abortion activism on college campuses.

Ellen Shannon, 20, of Fort Wayne, Ind., is an intern with Students for Life of America, a college group opposing abortion. "It's important for every person in America to realize that the pre-born have intrinsic human value, and students have a responsibility to stand up for those who are defenseless on college campuses."

Garry Terry, 61, of Ahoskie, N.C., says he doesn't care who is elected in 2016 — "as long as it's a Republican."

"This country should be more than fast-food restaurants, strip malls and minimum-wage jobs," Terry says. "Where is the hope?"

The audience stands for the national anthem at the Road to the Majority Conference in Washington, D.C.(Photo: Natalie DiBlasio, USA TODAY)